Former Smiths guitarist Jonny Marr delighted thousands in his home city of Manchester yesterday (June 9) by turning up on stage at the Parklife Weekender to join Chic feat. Nile Rodgers for the seminal disco artist's classic hit 'Le Freak'.

Former Smiths guitarist Jonny Marr delighted thousands in his home city of Manchester yesterday (June 9) by turning up on stage at the Parklife Weekender to join Chic feat. Nile Rodgers for the seminal disco artist’s classic hit ‘Le Freak’.

Afterwards in a chat with NME, Marr hinted that the collaboration between him and Rodgers might be heading into the studio.

Chic brightened up a typically Mancunian day of drizzle with a set encompassing Rodgers’ entire career as a musician and producer, mixing up tracks such as ‘Dance Dance Dance’ and ‘Everybody Dance’ with renditions of Rodgers-produced hits like Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’ and David Bowie‘s ‘Let’s Dance’ before Marr joined him.

Asked if they’d be working together in the studio, Marr commented: “I think it could easily happen, my situation has always been exactly the same as Nile’s in that I’ve always made records with people I’ve become friends with and have something in common with, and me and Nile have that.”

Marr – who went on to catch Tom Vek’s set later in the evening – has long been known to be a fan of Rodgers, even going so far as naming his son after him. The pair first met and performed together last November also in Manchester at The Warehouse Project. “Nile’s music was a game changer for me in 1978 when I was finding my guitar style, he’s a huge influence.”

He also claimed he might not even have made it as a guitarist if he’d listened to his parents, who told him to stop practising. “My brother used to share a bedroom with me and I’d be trying to play stuff at 11:30pm and my parents would be having a go,” Marr admitted.